Monday, March 21, 2011

Pythagoras Solar, an Israel-based, venture-backed company developing transparent, energy efficient windows that also generate solar power, announced that it has been chosen by Willis Tower, formerly Sears Tower, the tallest building the Western Hemisphere, to collaborate on a pilot project to help deliver on the building's renewable energy and energy efficiency improvement goals.

The pilot project, deployed in November 2010 on the south facing windows of the Willis Tower's 56th floor, uses Pythagoras Solar's building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solution that has the potential to expand to a surface area allowing over two megawatts of solar power generation.

"We are excited to launch this pilot with Pythagoras Solar's leading-edge solar window solutions as a test for not only the energy savings that can be achieved, but the potential they represent to actually generate power through the sun," said John Huston, Executive Vice President of American Landmark Properties, one of the ownership partners of Willis Tower.

"We are incredibly proud to be considered to contribute our part for the 'greening' of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, the iconic Willis Tower," said Gonen Fink, Co-founder and CEO Pythagoras Solar. "It is inspiring to see a team not waver in its dedication to making a true and lasting change through smart investments in the right solutions. With its combined benefits, our technology is set to provide Willis Tower with a valuable tool that will help move it toward its energy efficiency goals."

According to Pythagoras Solar, it is the first company to offer a fully integrated photovoltaic glass unit (PVGU) that addresses the need for simultaneous benefits of energy efficiency and high power density, while also offering architectural design benefits to increase real estate value and advance Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZB).

I am an associate in the Business Law Department of Goodwin Procter LLP, a leading U.S. law firm. The views expressed on this website are my own, and not necessarily the views of Goodwin Procter. You can contact me at jonathan@boston-israel.org